Coming Back
by Galateagirl
Summary: This is another one of those stories I had in The Life and Times of Danny, Sam and Tucker that people asked me to continue. So, here you go.
1. Explosion

Sam smiled as she walked down the sidewalk. Lately, things had been looking up. At college, everybody was smiling at her, and she wasn't surrounded by constant reminders of Danny.

_Danny…_ He had left halfway through junior year. Nobody knew where, and most assumed he had died. But Sam, Jazz and Tucker all knew he was still alive. When he had left, Sam sunk into depression. She had believed he had abandoned her. It was only Tucker who helped her move on. They were now at the same college and loving their newfound freedom. Sam had new friends and had lightened up on the goth. Tucker had a serious girlfriend. Jazz was on her way to becoming a pschologist, her life-long dream. But all of their lives were constantly interrupted by ghost fighting. With Danny gone, they were the only people who could protect the town. The only upside was that the town knew "Team Phantom" was saving them and admired and thanked them greatly for it.

Sam waved to a girl she new from her History class, before waling up the concrete stairs to her hall. She had even lessened up on the whole Goth look after a while. Not that she would ever where pink, or anything.

Sam hummed slightly as she pushed open her door. It was open, so Tuck was probably inside. They had traded their extra copies of their keys so they could visit each other and hide out in each other's rooms.

What she saw sitting on her bed stopped her in her tracks. Sam dropped her bag in shock.

Danny blushed and waved. "Hi Sam."

Sam was speechless. She just shook her head and turned to Tucker, who was leaning against her desk. He immediately walked over to calm her down. "Now, Sam, don't do anything rash. He just came back. I was shocked too when I saw him."

Sam pushed past Tucker and walked until she was right in front of Danny. She took a deep breath as if to speak, but then looked at the floor and clenched her fists. Danny looked at her helplessly. He sighed and said, "Sam, I-"

He didn't get to finish what he was going to say, because Sam socked him in the jaw and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Tucker sighed and looked at Danny. "I told you she wasn't going to tae it very well."

Danny glared at him and ran after Sam. When Sam heard footsteps behind her, she immediately started sprinting. Danny changed into ghost form and caught her, flying her up on top of a building and setting her down.

Sam crossed her arms and looked at him coldly. "Put. Me. Down." She said.

Danny sighed and put out his hands. "Look Sam, I'm sorry, okay? Please, let me back in."

Sam could have screamed. "Let you back in? You locked the door behind you! You left without telling any of us, Danny! I thought you were dead! And you try to waltz back here and expect us to welcome you with open arms?"

Danny looked at his hands. "Sam, I thought things would get better if I left. I thought…all my problems would disappear."

Sam snorted and rolled her eyes. "Danny, you leaving made everything ten times worse. Your problems became our problems. Jazz is six months pregnant and you know what she's doing right now? She's fighting Skulker! Your parents were heartbroken. I was heartbroken."

Danny looked confused. "What?"

Sam sighed. "I loved you so much back then, Danny. The only thing that kept me going was seeing you around, having you nearby." Her eyes filled with fire once more. "And then you leave, just like that! You went on and on about how this town is your responsibility and yet you abandoned it without a second glance. I thought you were dead and the guilt ate away at me. I thought you died because of something I had done or said. I thought you had died a heroic death, battling Pariah Dark, but didn't tell us, so as not to worry us." Sam laughed bitterly. "But now I see. You took the coward's route. Well gues what, Danny? Covering your eyes doesn't make the monsters go away."

With that wounding comment, Sam walked away, to the door leading bac down to the dorms. Danny stayed where he was, for a long time, wallowing in his misery and shame.


	2. Apology Accepted

Sam ran down the stairs to the bottom floor of the dorm. Tears streamed down her face, but she wiped them away impatiently. _I shouldn't be affected. I just got over him. How DARE he come back? The nerve of him acting like that…_

Tucker stopped her on the stairs. He had been running up the stairs to check what was going on. His face hardened and he said in steely tones, "What happened?"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "It's none of your business. Danny got what he deserved." She tried to push past but Tuck didn't move.

"What happened?" He repeated.

Sam burst into tears and leaned against her best friend. "Why is he doing this to me? He should have stayed where he was or never left at all! I don't know what to do and I just yelled at him and he hates me now."

Tucker ran his thumb across Sam's cheek. They had grown to act like brother and sister without Danny around. They only had each other to lean on. All of their friends at college made jokes that they were separated Siamese Twins. He said, softly. "Sam, he could never hate you. Why do you think he came back? He wanted to see you so badly."

Sam hiccupped and wiped at her streaming eyes. "I hate crying!" She said, loudly. "I don't want to cry anymore! Especially over _him_. Why does he do this to me?"

"Sam, he doesn't want to. Just give him a second chance. He made a mistake and he knows it." He chuckled softly. "Either that or he's more clueless than we thought." Sam smiled and choked out a laugh. Tucker smiled at her. "Look, you told him off and you proved your point. Go back up and apologize okay? I'll be waiting right here."

Sam looked up at him with sorrowful eyes and nodded. "Okay." Tucker squeezed her hand and she headed back up the stairs. When she reached the door, Sam laid a hand on it and took a deep breath. Sam was proud. She didn't want to admit she was wrong, even to her best friend. But she couldn't live with the knowledge that she had driven off her best friend when he tried to apologize. Sam let the breath out and pushed the door open.

Danny was where she had last left him, except he was sitting down and was looking out over the campus. Seeing him sitting there, looking pathetic and helpless made Sam feel like the biggest jerk ever. She sighed again and walked over to Danny. She sat down next to him. Sam didn't speak for a moment, but just looked at him.

Danny had barely changed at all. His hair was a bit longer in the front and he had lost a little bit of the baby fat in his cheeks. Otherwise, he could have stepped out of the Casper High Yearbook.

Sam laid a hand on his back. "Danny, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was such a shock seeing you after all this time." She laughed bitterly. "You should have come back three years ago. Every single day I almost never took my eyes off the sky looking for you."

Danny hung his head. "Sam, don't apologize. I deserve any abuse you have. I was a complete jerk for leaving like that."

Sam was silent. She couldn't really argue. The two friends just sat there silently, looking out over the campus. She laughed as she saw a Frisbee hit a tree and a dead branch fell out. Danny raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"We're not allowed to touch the trees. Apparently they're under protection because some of them are over a hundred years old. It's just funny because the Freshmen get so freaked out about the trees that some of them never hang out on the quad. Look." Danny raised an eyebrow and looked at the perpetrator of the crime. A girl holding the Frisbee was wide eyed. Her eyes darted back and forth. She couldn't have looked guiltier. Danny started laughing. Sam looked at him surprised and then joined him.

"I missed you, Sam." He said. Sam blushed and smiled. Danny smiled back. "What's been going on with you guys?"

Sam rolled her eyes, grinning. "This could take a while. For starters, Tucks been labeled the 'cutie-pie' at college."

Danny's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

Sam shook her head, laughing. "I'm serious. He's the best friend of every girl on campus. Not that he can get a date. He's more like the guy girls have small crushes on but aren't serious about at all. Every girl comes to him when they have problems with their boyfriends. He's basically the walking shoulder to cry on. And he is pestered every single day with pleads from the masses to have him fix their laptops and cell phones."

Danny whistled. "Popular at last. He should be happy."

Sam laughed and continued. "Your parents are the same. When you weren't around, they used Jazz as the guinea pig and thought they were making huge improvement because she never set off the devices. But they actually have made improvements. Jazz married Dash, who is now coach of the Amity Ravens." Danny's eyebrows rose. Sam laughed. "I know. But Jazz has never been happier. They're going to have their first child in July."

Danny laughed, facing the sky. "That's hysterical. But what's going on with you?"

Sam blushed and brushed her hair behind her ear. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, how are you? Who are your friends? Who's your roommate? Do you like them? Why aren't you wearing black?" Sam fiddled with her maroon top at this. Danny barreled on, sounding desperate for information. "What's college like? Who are you dating? What-"

Sam cut him off. "Whoa, cowboy. Let me answer these questions one by one. First, I'm fine. Second, I have a lot of friends but my three best friends here are Tucker, Chi and Will. Third, Chi's my roommate. We have contests to see who can wake up earliest and not wake up the other. Which is odd, considering both of our first class is at ten thirty. Fourth, I think I just answered that. So permit me to move on." A smile tugged at Danny's lips and he nodded. Sam acted mock serious and nodded. "Thank you. I'm not wearing black because I don't wear all black anymore. I don't wear pastels or bright colors, but I don't dress in all black. College is great. College is freedom. And, last but not least I'm not dating anybody. Not that I haven't been asked out. Ask Tucker about the Paul incident sometime when I'm not around. He loves retelling it." Sam stood up and pulled Danny up with her. "C'mon. Tucker is waiting for us. And I'm sure he'll want to see proof I didn't tear you limb from limb.

**This is for the wonderful people who read The Life and Times of Danny, Sam and Tucker. Thank you for your support.**


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